The 1980 Coup
In December 1979, the military warned the government that it needed to act against
ongoing unrest, but Prime Minister Demirel—back in office at the head of a minor-
ity government—lacked the political clout to take effective measures. During the first
eight months of 1980, some 1,800 people died in several rounds of political violence
and terrorism. Events came to a head in September 1980, when opposition parties
forced the resignation of the foreign minister, and advocates of Islamic law staged a
huge public rally.
On September 12, 1980, the military seized control of the government, dismissed
parliament, and created the National Security Council, a five-member junta headed
by chief of staff Gen. Kenan Evren. In a statement, the military said it had suspended
all political activity but would govern only until it could restore order. The generals
pledged “a speedy restoration of the democratic process.”
In a sweeping crackdown intended to halt the violence, the military began arresting
thousands of political activists, including leaders of opposition parties, students, trade
union leaders, and others. The arrests eventually totaled around 30,000, according to
most sources. The military’s repression brought international protests, including from
European countries, which suspended Turkey’s participation in the Council of Europe,
a human rights monitoring agency. The military implemented an economic reform pro-
gram, first proposed by Demirel’s government, that succeeded in reducing inflation and
reviving the economy. Breaking with its past support for strict secularist policies, the mil-
itary also introduced several measures promoting religious instruction in schools. These
measures were intended to reduce public support for leftist groups but instead created
opportunities for advocates of greater Islamic influence in public life.
The military government drafted, and in 1982 voters approved by referendum, a
new constitution providing for a strong presidency. Also as part of the constitutional
referendum, voters ratified the appointment of General Evren as president. Under this
new constitutional arrangement, Turgut Ozal emerged as Turkey’s most successful
politician during the 1980s as leader of the conservative Motherland Party. He had
launched the economic stabilization program under the generals. His party won elec-
tions in 1983 and 1987, enabling him to serve six years as prime minister, the longest
of any prime minister since Menderes during the 1950s. Ozal went on to succeed
Evren as president in 1989, a position he held until he died of a heart attack in 1993.
A “Soft Coup”
Turkey’s next experience with military intervention in politics came in 1997, two years
after an Islamic party, the Welfare Party, finished first in parliamentary elections. Wel-
fare Party leader Necmettin Erbakan became prime minister in a coalition government,
making him the first avowedly Islamic leader since Ataturk assumed power seven
decades earlier. After Erbakan took several steps—such as encouraging women to wear
headscarves in public—that offended Turkey’s secularists, the military acted. In what
became known as a “soft coup,” the generals on February 28, 1997, demanded that
Erbakan sign a statement that included a commitment to secularism. The prime min-
ister signed the statement but was slow to carry out the pledges. He finally gave in to
the military’s pressure and resigned on June 18. A year later, the Constitutional Court
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